Orlando City (12-10-7, 43 points) at Columbus Crew (15-5-8, 53 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Lower.com Field, Columbus, OH
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: 96.9 The Game, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Here are five storylines to watch on Saturday as the Lions take on the Crew:
Chasing History
Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres has a chance to make Orlando City history in Columbus this weekend. With his goal against Charlotte FC in the 52nd minute of the Lions’ 2-0 win, Torres moved within one goal of tying former Lions forward Cyle Larin for most goals scored for Orlando City across all competitions. The Las Piedras, Uruguay native has scored 43 goals to date across all competitions and Larin set the Club record at 44, with the next closest to the pair in Lions’ history being former captain Nani with 31 tallied all-time.
Running on Duncan, Again
With his goal in the 89th minute against Charlotte FC on Wednesday night, 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection Duncan McGuire scored his second goal in as many games, chipping the ball over Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Across all competitions, McGuire has totaled 13 goal contributions across the Lions’ 2024 campaign, tallying 10 goals and providing three helpers to date, good for second and seventh most from any Lion respectively. The Omaha, Nebraska native has scored 25 goals for Orlando City all-time and provided three assists since being drafted No. 6 overall by the Lions.
Protected by El Pulpo & Co
Orlando City has now secured clean-sheet wins in three consecutive matches for the first time since October-November of last year, when the Lions closed the regular season with a shutout win over Toronto FC and then famously posted a clean sheet sweep of Nashville SC in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. In the last three matches, the Lions’ defenders have only allowed six shots to make it to goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, with El Pulpo stopping every single one. In addition, the Lions’ defense has contributed to the attack in each of those matches, with Rafael Santos tallying a strike and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson and Pedro Gallese both picking up assists.
Lions on Top
Since the calendar flipped to July, Orlando City is 7-1-1 with a +16-goal differential in MLS regular season matches. No team in Major League Soccer has earned more points than Orlando’s 22 since the start of July. In that time forward Facundo Torres has continued his torrid run through the second half of the campaign, including a goal in the Lions’ last match against Charlotte FC. Torres has scored 11 goals and provided six assists in his last 15 matches, including seven goals in his last six home games.
Charging into the Playoffs
The Lions Orlando City won yet again on Wednesday night, taking the win over Charlotte FC via a 2-0 scoreline and moving up into fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Orlando City SC is currently tied on points with the New York Red Bulls at 43, but hold the first tie breaker, wins, over the New Jersey-based club via a 12-10 margin after winning its game-in-hand on Wednesday night. The Lions now control their own destiny when it comes to qualifying for the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs as well as securing home-field advantage in the Round One best-of-three series.
Milestone Tracker:
- Duncan McGuire is tied with Kaká (25) for fourth on Orlando City’s all-time scoring list and is one goal away from taking sole possession of fourth place.
- Facundo Torres (24) is one assist away from passing Chris Mueller (24) for third on the Club’s all-time assist chart and two away from tying former captain Nani (26) for second.
- Torres also sits just one goal away from the all-time Club record set by Cyle Larin (44) across all competitions.
